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Life of a Poet: Marilyn Chin

Poet Marilyn Chin joins Ron Charles an in-depth discussion of the writer's career and the major events that have shaped her work. Readings from Chin's are interspersed throughout the conversation.

Speaker Biography: Marilyn Chin was born in Hong Kong and raised in Portland, Oregon. Her books have become Asian-American classics and are taught in classrooms internationally. She is presently celebrating the launch of her new book, "A Portrait of the Self as Nation: New and Selected Poems." Chin's other books of poems include "Hard Love Province," "Rhapsody in Plain Yellow," "Dwarf Bamboo" and "The Phoenix Gone, The Terrace Empty." Her book of wild girl fiction is called "Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen." She has won numerous awards, including the PEN/Josephine Miles Award, five Pushcart Prizes, a Fulbright Fellowship to Taiwan, a Lannan Fellowship and others. Chin is professor emerita of San Diego State University, and recently, she was guest poet at universities from Beijing to Berlin. Presently, she serves as a chancellor for the Academy of American Poets.

Speaker Biography: Ron Charles is the editor of The Washington Post's Book World section. For several years, he also edited the Post's "Poet's Choice" column in Book World. His reviews have won the National Book Critics Circle Award for best criticism and 1st place for Arts & Entertainment Commentary from the Society for Features Journalism.